


What We Wanted

by fansstartingst



Category: Free!
Genre: Alpha Nanase Haruka, Explicit Consent, M/M, Non-Graphic Smut, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Omega Matsuoka Rin, a/b/o au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:07:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24487135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fansstartingst/pseuds/fansstartingst
Summary: Haruka is an alpha who feels he should have been a beta. Rin is an omega who longed to be an alpha like his father. They both want to avoid forming a bond with anyone (and are desperate to hide their hopeless crushes on each other). Naturally, they imprint on each other.
Relationships: Matsuoka Rin/Nanase Haruka
Comments: 7
Kudos: 95





	What We Wanted

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly, this isn’t the type of thing I normally write but I wanted to try my hand at this.

What should have been an average day, an average group catch up, was ruined when Momotarou pointed out a significant change. 

‘Rin-senpai, something’s up. You smell like…’ He froze once the scent caught up to him. Rin’s stomach clenched, he had hoped he had imagined it. 

‘Momotarou-kun is right, you smell like…” Rei also cut himself off.

‘He smells like Haru.’ Sousuke spoke quietly but the impact of his words rang throughout Makoto’s tiny apartment.

Trying to not tremble, Rin shook his head. ‘Don’t be stupid, of course I can’t smell like Haru.’ The implication of what the others had noticed was too much for Rin’s heart.

‘Rin, are you sure? Maybe Haru accidentally-‘ Makoto gently tried to say.

‘I didn’t scent him.’ Haruka interjected. His blue eyes were unreadable.

‘Then, that means Nanase-san and Rin-senpai imprinted!” Momotarou exclaimed. Everyone looked back and forth between Haruka and Rin as they stared at each other.

Now that Momotarou had vocalised it, there was no denying it to himself. Rin’s former smell of cherries was now replaced by Haruka’s pine smoke scent.

‘Let’s be calm. There’s nothing wrong with an imprinted bond.’ Rei stated.  


Momotarou scratched his head. ‘How exactly does imprinting work?’

‘Well, as you know, people present their rank when they enter puberty. Bonds, if they occur, typically happen once individuals come of age.’ Rei explained, fixing his glasses as he spoke.

That made sense. This was the first time Haruka and Rin had seen each other since they both came of age. Rin had spent a few months continuing his training in Australia but had returned the previous day.‘Guys, I think we need to let Haru-chan and Rin-chan talk privately.’ Nagisa said. Haruka and Rin had yet to take their eyes off each other.

‘Good idea Nagisa.’ Makoto hopped up. ‘I just remembered, I’ll need help getting ingredients for dinner. Let’s all go.’ Everyone filed out of the room. Sousuke patted Rin’s shoulder and Nagisa left a brief touch to Haruka’s hair. Makoto gave them both a sheepish smile before shutting the door behind him, leaving Rin alone with Haruka.

‘Rin…’ Haruka started.

‘Please, save it Haru. I know what you’re going to say.’ Rin muttered.

‘No, I was just going to-‘ Haruka was cut off, again.

‘I know, you didn’t mean to initiate the imprint, but it happened.’ Rin said.

‘Would it be so bad, us being bonded?’ Haruka murmured, eyes shimmering.

Rin stared into Haruka’s eyes before sighing. ‘I guess it doesn’t matter. We don’t have a choice. I clearly accepted your bonding attempt. We’re in this together.’ Looking into Haruka’s eyes as he said this was difficult.

‘We’ll just need to make the best of it.’ Haruka said softly. Rin chanced a brave smile, internally screaming.

Being called into your coach’s office isn’t a pleasant experience, but that’s were Haruka and Rin found themselves Monday afternoon. Rin was sure the encounter would be worse because it seemed the entire executive staff of the Japanese National team was there. Sugimoto, their head coach, told them to sit in a soft voice.

‘Please pardon this abrupt meeting. There’s no gentle way to say this, so I’ll just be blunt.’ Rin’s heart palpitated as Sugimoto spoke. ‘It’s come to our attention you two have… imprinted on each other.” Both Haruka and Rin flinched at his words. ‘We know you two have known each other for quite some time, and bonds between teammates are certainly not uncommon, but an imprinted bond is most… unusual.’ Rin resisted the urge to gulp and judging by Haruka’s scent, he was just as anxious.

‘We apologise if this is an inconvenience.’ Rin managed to stammer out.

Sugimoto waved an affable hand. ’Not at all. In fact, we think you two should display your bond.’ Haruka and Rin blinked in confusion.

‘We’ve been in discussion all morning and we believe it would benefit the team in the long run if you two were to showcase your imprinted and mated status.’ Miura, the head of publicity for the team, spoke up.

Rin flushed. ‘We’re not mates.’ He stammered.

‘You will be soon, a bond like yours makes it inevitable.’ Kitano, the team’s main physician stated.

‘We don’t have any choice in this, do we?’ Haruka asked.

Sugimoto fixed his glasses. ‘I must impress upon the pair of you how prudent it would be to portray a happily mated pair on Tobiuo Japan to the public. Young athletes become worried about their relationships, and if they see yours, it could reassure them.’

‘It would also raise awareness for the team and increase sponsors.’ Miura added.

Haruka and Rin glanced at each other. Rin told himself he wasn’t pleased by Haruka's small blush or the mildly flustered tone Haruka’s scent had taken. He knew he couldn’t be much better.

‘We’ll… think about it.’ Haruka eventually said. Rin nodded, refusing to look at anyone. His mind was racing and his heart was thumping even faster at what their superiors were implying.

‘That’s all we can really ask. You’re dismissed.’ Sugimoto said. Rin and Haruka stood and left the office, careful to not look at or touch each other.

‘I just can’t believe this. I didn’t ask to be imprinted on.’ Rin ranted over the phone to Sousuke, later that night. 

‘Sure, yet you must have subconsciously wanted this.’ Sousuke’s voice drawled over the line, making Rin bristle.

‘I know how it works, but it doesn’t make any sense. Why would Haru choose me?’

‘Probably for the same reason you accepted. You’ve been taken with him since before we even presented.’ 

Rin opened his mouth to protest but he knew Sousuke would see through him. ‘It’s just… what if I’m not what Haru really wants?’ He mumbled.

There was a pause. ‘I think his feelings for you are more mutual than you realise.’ Sousuke said, sounding like he was picking his words carefully.

‘Impossible.’ Rin shook his head even though Sousuke couldn’t see him. ‘I mean, he wanted nothing to do with me when we were kids.’ 

Sousuke resisted the urge to sigh but allowed himself to roll his eyes. ‘Just… talk to him. You might be surprised.’

‘We already talked about it.’ Rin insisted. The awkward and short conversation they had at Makoto’s was more than Rin wanted to say to Haruka about this.

‘Sure, look, I’ve got to go. Talk later.’ Sousuke said, knowing he wouldn’t get anywhere with Rin right then. He also didn’t want to risk accidentally uttering an alpha order against his best friend. They said their good byes and hung up.

A few days later, Ikuya approached Haruka. ‘How are you doing?’ He asked.

‘Fine.’ Haruka mumbled, not meeting Ikuya’s eyes.

‘Well, I hope things work out.’ Ikuya murmured, eyeing Haruka for a moment before leaving him alone. Haruka continued his stretches until Natsuya came over and draped himself over Haruka’s shoulder.

‘So, what were you and Ikuya talking about?’ Judging by Natsuya’s tone, he already knew.

‘Just… you know. What the team has to have been talking about.’ Haruka muttered, also refusing to meet Natsuya’s eyes.

‘Ah, yeah. About you and Matsuoka.’ This made Haruka flinch and blush. ‘Relax, there’s no need to get all flustered. Bonds at our age are natural.’ Natsuya patted Haruka’s shoulder before withdrawing his arm.

‘Yeah, but there hasn’t been an imprinted bond on this team before.’

‘Well, you and Matsuoka have quite the unprecedented history, with talents to match.’ Natsuya chuckled when Haruka pouted at his words. ‘Well, I’m sure you two will work it out in the end. From the sounds of it, you always do.’ With a lazy smile and wave, Natsuya ambled off, leaving Haruka to his thoughts.

Rin was lying on his couch, reading through a nutritional pamphlet he had picked up from his favourite health food store that morning. For some reason, he felt sulky. It was a week after he had returned to Tokyo and his omega instincts seemed to be set on making him moody over the fact he wasn’t spending more time with Haruka. His heart jolted when there was a soft knock on his door. He shoved down the inherent hope it was Haruka and got up to answer the door.

‘Hi, Rin-chan.’ Nagisa sang once the door opened.

‘Oh, Nagisa, hi. What’s up?’ Rin was surprised, and disappointed no matter what he told himself, that Nagisa was here and not Haruka.

‘I just decided to drop by.’ Nagisa stepped in the apartment and removed his shoes. His chocolatey scent was admittedly comforting as Rin slowly inhaled it. It distracted him from the pine smoke.

‘What’cha up to?’ Nagisa asked as he flopped down on Rin’s couch and took out a packet of melon bread. He handed one to Rin before opening another and biting into it eagerly.

‘Just reading some nutrition stuff, which you really need to do.’ Rin said, and he flicked Nagisa’s forehead. He ignored Nagisa’s resulting whine and went to pour them both some barely tea.

‘How are things with Haru-chan?’ Nagisa asked, making Rin stumble as he poured a second glass.

‘Wuh-what makes you ask that?’ Rin told his heart to calm down as he took in Nagisa’s pointed yet patient smile. ‘We… we’re fine?’

‘It must be difficult not being near your mate.’ Nagisa stated before munching on his bread again.

Rin flushed. ‘We’re not mates.’ He muttered as he set down the two beverages on the tiny coffee table in front of his couch.

‘I really think you should talk to Haru-chan about that.’

‘We have.’ Rin didn’t know why he bothered lying, Nagisa was as good at reading him as Sousuke, maybe even better.

‘I mean really talk to him.’ Nagisa’s eyes narrowed in concern when Rin gave a feeble sigh. ‘Are you okay?’

‘I just… I don’t know.’ Rin mumbled as he sat down next to Nagisa.

Nagisa scooted closer to Rin and wrapped his arms around him, nuzzling his shoulder. Rin allowed himself to enjoy the affection even though he was internally rebelling against it. After a moment, Nagisa softly asked, ‘want to nest? It might help you feel a little better.’

Alphas and omegas usually didn’t nest together unless they were mates, but Nagisa had never been a conventional alpha anyway, so Rin agreed. They worked to turn Rin’s extra blankets and pillows into a fluffy cloud in the corner of his bedroom. As they settled down together, cuddled in the downy softness, Rin tried to ignore the part of him screaming about how he was cuddling with the wrong alpha.

At the same time, Haruka paced his small living area in agitation. He told himself he didn’t know why he was so restless, but he knew that was a lie. He knew he needed Rin there in order to feel content. It was natural for alphas to want to keep their omegas close by to protect them. _“Rin is not my mate and he doesn’t need protecting.”_ Haruka firmly thought. He startled slightly when there was a knock on the door.

‘Rei, what are you doing here? Is something wrong?’ Haruka asked, surprised when he opened the door to find Rei standing there and holding a small melon.

‘Good evening, Haruka-senpai. I just wanted to catch up.’ Rei smiled as he handed over the melon and stepped over the threshold to take off his shoes.

Haruka busied himself cutting up the melon as Rei kneeled at his dining table. He couldn’t help thinking the melon’s scent went well with Rei’s blueberry scent. He handed Rei a plate holding a few slices of melon. ‘How has the first year of university been for you?’ Haruka asked as he kneeled perpendicular to Rei at the table.

‘It’s very invigorating.’ Rei smiled which made Haruka give an approving nod.

They ate in silence for a few minutes before Rei spoke again. ‘Have you spoken to Rin-san recently?’

‘I see him every day at practice.’ Haruka murmured, not meeting Rei’s eyes.

‘Haruka-senpai, with all due respect, you know what I mean.’ Rei said good-naturedly, wearing a determined expression.

Haruka paused. ‘We haven’t really had a long conversation.’ 

‘That’s what Makoto-senpai said. He’s worried too, you know.’ Haruka inwardly cursed himself for telling Makoto he hadn’t had the courage to talk to Rin. ‘Are you two going to talk about it?’

‘I guess we’ll have to.’ Haruka muttered.

‘Indeed. I speak for Makoto-senpai, Gou-san, and Nagisa-kun when I ask you to please talk to him.’

With a sigh, Haruka finally looked at Rei. He knew his friends only had his best interests at heart. He also knew he was just prolonging the inevitable by avoiding Rin. ‘Okay, I’ll talk to him.’ This made Rei beam.

Immediately after Rei left, Haruka took out his phone and called Makoto. ‘Hi Haru, what’s up?’ Makoto asked happily when the line connected, but Haruka could tell he already knew why he had called.

‘I can’t talk to Rin about the bond.’

‘What? Why not?’ Makoto sounded appropriately flabbergasted.

‘What if… what if I’m not good enough for him? What if he hates me?’ Haruka mumbled quietly.

Makoto made a sympathetic noise. ‘I don’t think Rin could ever hate you. You guys have worked through a lot together.’

Haruka had to admit Makoto was right. He flashed back to running for his life, screaming his lungs out to find Rin during their regional tournament in second year. He remembered Rin showing up on his doorstep and whisking him away to Australia during their third year. Haruka still couldn’t bring himself to believe Rin admired him. He also remembered telling Rin how he didn’t want Rin to give up his dream since they had both found their dreams, that one starry night sitting on a bench. Rin had also admitted to finding swimming with Haruka a gift in itself, which Haruka still couldn’t believe. ‘You’re right.’ He finally said to Makoto.

This made Makoto utter a pleased hum. ‘Good, you don’t need to worry about talking to Rin.’

‘Yeah, I guess you have a point.’

Makoto giggled. ‘Well then, I’ll wish you luck, Haru-chan.’

‘Drop the chan.’ Haruka said, unable to keep from smiling.

‘Rin, can we talk?’ Haruka asked Rin at practice the next morning.

‘Oh, Haru… of course.’ Rin did his best to ignore his heart slightly speeding up in Haruka’s presence.

‘Can we talk at my place after practice?’ Haruka firmly shoved his instinctual excitement at the thought of Rin being in his living space.

‘Sure, I think that’s a good idea.’ Rin told himself he didn’t smell anticipation on Haruka. He was only projecting.

The pair ignored the pointed grins from Natsuya and Asahi, the knowing stare from Ikuya, and the understanding smile from Nao as they watched from a few metres away.

‘Should I order something?’ Haruka asked as he and Rin made themselves at home around his dining table.

‘Anything but mackerel.’ Rin grinned. Haruka rolled his eyes and ordered chicken.

As they waited for the food, they sat reading various swimming training books. ‘Have you seen Nagisa recently?’ Haruka couldn’t help but ask. He had smelled Nagisa on Rin at practice and internally bristled about it.

‘Oh, yeah, he came over yesterday.’

‘Rei came over yesterday, too…’ 

‘Huh, they must have planned it.’ Rin muttered.

‘I’m pretty sure they did. Rei mentioned Makoto and Gou too.’

‘Yeah, Nagisa gave me this note from Gou.’ Rin took a small pink envelope out of his bag and handed it to Haruka.

_ Talk to him, please. _

‘Our friends are such busy bodies.’ Haruka mumbled after he read the note and handed it back to Rin.

‘But they have a point. We do need to talk about it.’ Rin managed to look Haruka in the eye.

‘Then… should we go public about our bond?’ Haruka shyly asked.

‘I think we should. With our careers we won’t be able to keep it quiet anyway.’ The media would immediately pick up on their matching scents. That wasn’t even talking about if they actually mated. Rin quickly pushed that thought down in case Haruka scented it on him.

‘What about us actually… you know?’ Haruka asked, face turning red. Rin also flushed. So they were talking about it anyway.

‘Well, I mean, imprinted bonds shouldn’t have to mean mating.’ Rin stuttered.

‘Right.’

‘It should be up to us. I mean, I don’t want a mate and I know you don’t either.’ Rin said, trying to keep his voice level.

‘I don’t.’ Haruka quietly agreed.

‘So, we’ll just be good friends who happen to smell like each other.’ Rin continued.

Haruka stared at Rin, not speaking. A few moments passed before the delivery person knocked on the door with their chicken and Haruka went to retrieve it. Rin’s stomach fluttered as he told himself he didn’t smell disappointment coming from Haruka.

At practices, they were better at talking to each other. They ate lunch together with Asahi and Ikuya each day, all the while exchanging shy glances. When they helped each other stretch, it was with shaking and gentle hands.

Rin heaved a great sigh as he stared at the bottle containing his suppressants. It was a week after his awkward conversation agreeing to just be matching scented friends with Haruka, and he knew his heat was approaching. He could also tell Haruka’s rut would be happening soon. 

The bond made it so their cycles would sync up. _“How convenient.”_ Rin thought dryly as he eyed the bottle in his clenched hand.

It was team protocol for everyone, regardless of gender identity or rank, to be on suppressants or blockers. Heats and ruts typically happened to individuals three times per year but that was not conducive to a productive training regime for a swim team. Hence the blockers.

Rin couldn’t help but remember Haruka’s blush when the team’s staff implied they were mates, and how shy he had been asking if they would consummate their imprint. Before he could lose his nerve, he grabbed his phone and called Haruka.

‘Rin?’ Haruka’s quiet voice on the line made his stupid heart sing.

‘Hey Haru. I was just wondering if you…’ Rin had to pause to clear his throat. ‘Have you taken your scent blockers for your rut yet?”

Haruka made a flustered noise. It was typically taboo to talk about any suppressant unless it was with a medical professional, parent, or most importantly, a mate. A wry voice in his head, that sounded suspiciously like Sousuke, reminded him they technically were mates. Rin shut the voice down with a fierce thought of how they weren’t, so the conversation was still weird.

‘I was… just thinking about if I should.’ Haruka eventually admitted after an awkward yet heated pause.

Ignoring the blood rushing in his ears, Rin pressed on. ‘I decided not to take my suppressants.’ There, the ball was in Haruka’s court now.

Another heated pause, then, ‘Then I won’t take my blockers.’

Rin forced himself not to grin and ignored his fluttering heart. ‘Sounds like a plan.’

The day Rin’s pre-heat began, he called Haruka. He quickly arrived at Rin’s apartment with an overnight bag and parcels of snacks. They had called Sugimoto to let him know the situation and they were immediately granted the required week’s leave.

Rin was anxious. He had never shared his heat with anyone. This wasn’t just anyone, either. This was Haruka, the boy he had an admired and chased for years. Judging by the frightened yet anticipatory scent emanating from Haruka, he couldn’t help but ask about his experience. ‘I’ve never shared my rut with anyone, either.’ Haruka softly confirmed.

It went like this:

Once the heat had passed, Rin tried to forget the warmth of their skin pressed together. How good Haruka had made him feel, how taken care of.

When Haruka had arrived, he asked if Rin was sure. After Rin’s affirmation, Haruka swept him up in his arms. They had nosed and mouthed at each other’s necks and shoulders, blindly making their way to Rin’s bedroom, leaving a trail of clothes in their wake. 

The mating bite had hurt but he was already biting to mark Haruka, so Rin figured he didn’t have room to complain.

He didn’t want to but he felt regret.

As a child, Rin entertained romantic daydreams of meeting his perfect match and forming the perfect bond, prepared to settle down and raise a family once his swimming career was fulfilled. As he grew older and presented, those dreams simmered down to idle maybes.

‘I never thought of mating or preparing for a family.’ Haruka had confessed during a quiet moment of their mating. This made Rin regret it even more.

It was tradition for newly mated pairs to create a nest together. Haruka worked quietly and methodically, arranging the nicest blankets they had. Once they finished, he took Rin by the hand and gently pulled him against his bare chest to lay together in their nest.

They hadn’t kissed at all.

Haruka and Rin sheepishly endured the teasing and catcalls from their teammates once they had shown up the Monday following their mating. Sugimoto and Miura gave them nods of approval as Kitano examined their claiming marks, pronouncing them healed.

As time passed, nothing really changed between Haruka and Rin. They didn’t go on any outings that could be considered dates, and there was no talk of a repeat performance when their next mating cycles hit. It almost seemed like Haruka was scared to touch Rin. As much as it pained him, Rin reeled himself in from leaning on Haruka’s shoulder or poking his cheek as he often did in the past. For all appearances, they were just friends with matching scents and bite scars. Rin tried to ignore Haruka’s eyes on him during practice, even though he instinctively longed for Haruka to be close.

It was a quiet evening, much like the one when Nagisa had visited, when a soft knock sounded on Rin’s door. He opened it and told himself his heart didn’t soar when he saw Haruka standing there. ‘Hi.’ Haruka mumbled, cheeks lightly painted pink.

‘Yo, Haru. What’s up?’ Rin asked, sounding calm even though it felt like his every molecule was singing.

‘I just… wanted to see you.’ Haruka’s eyes shimmered. Rin allowed himself a grin and let Haruka inside.

After removing his shoes, Haruka straightened up and pouted at Rin. ‘It doesn’t really smell like me in here anymore.’ Whenever they weren’t close to each other for prolonged periods of time, Rin’s old cherry scent emerged.

Rin chuckled. ‘It’s been over a month and a half since the heat, plus we’ve been busy.’ He had picked up a few more shifts at his part time job and also managed to visit his mother the previous weekend. Haruka had spent his time out of training with his parents the entire previous week. Nagisa had insisted on a movie outing with their entire group a few days previously, but that wasn’t enough for scents to linger. They hadn’t been able to see much of each other out of the pool.

‘Can we change that?’ Haruka quietly asked. Rin’s stomach flipped and his heart fluttered.

‘You… want to scent me?’

‘And you should scent me, too.’ Haruka’s eyes were glimmering and determined, like when he saw a pool. Rin allowed a pleased feeling to wash over him at that thought.

‘Okay. Let’s do it.’ Rin breathed.

‘Let’s go to our nest.’ Haruka tugged on Rin’s shirt sleeve and began walking to Rin’s bedroom. Rin blushed slightly, he hadn’t been in the nest since their mating and he wasn’t sure how Haruka would react to that.

If Haruka was offended, he didn’t show it as he settled himself among the pillows and blankets. He held a hand out to Rin, much like when they had finished creating the nest. Rin hesitantly took it and found himself carefully pulled against Haruka’s chest.

‘Rin.’ Haruka murmured into Rin’s hair, arms wrapped snugly around him.

‘What?’ Rin hoped Haruka couldn’t feel his racing heart.

‘Rin…’ Haruka mumbled again, beginning to nose along the back of Rin’s left ear.

‘Yes, Haru?’ Rin repeated. Was that his flustered scent or Haruka’s flustered scent he smelled.

‘Nothing… I just wanted to say your name.’ Haruka whispered before planting gentle kisses on the underside of Rin’s jaw. Rin flushed as he remembered the way Haruka had said his name during their mating, softly groaned against the crook of his sweaty neck.

Gently, carefully, Haruka nudged Rin onto his back and hovered over him. His eyes had yet to lose their sparkle and Rin tried to keep the pleased feeling out of his scent. ‘Can I?’ Haruka asked softly. Rin’s voice was caught in his throat so he nodded. Haruka slowly, oh so slowly, leaned down and nuzzled his cheek against Rin’s scent gland, right near Rin’s bonding mark. Almost timidly, Haruka nibbled on the scent gland until he moved to nibble a bit more firmly on the mark. A soft whine escaped Rin at the tingling feeling the action left.

Haruka continued pressing kisses along Rin’s neck and shoulder, hand coming up to cup Rin’s cheek as he moved to kiss his nose and forehead over strands of soft crimson hair. 

Rin breathed a sigh before pushing himself up on his elbows. Haruka withdrew enough for Rin to sit up but not enough to be removed from his personal bubble. 

They stared into each other’s eyes as Rin hesitantly raised his hand and brought it close to Haruka’s cheek, not quite sure if he should touch. This was ridiculous. They were mates, they had had sex and yet Rin was nervous to kiss Haruka for the first time. A twitch of his fingers, minutely brushing the skin of Haruka’s cheek, betrayed his desire. Haruka’s eyes hooded and he gazed from Rin’s eyes to his lips before going back to his eyes. Haruka’s face edged slightly closer to Rin’s, and Rin’s moved fractionally closer too, their noses now brushing. A moment staring into each other’s eyes passed before Rin’s eyelids fluttered shut and he closed the small gap between their lips. Haruka breathed out a pleased sound as he kissed back.

As if a spell was broken, they couldn’t get enough of each other’s lips. They pressed insistent kisses and their tongues danced as Haruka sat up and moved them so Rin was sitting in his lap. Breaking their kiss, Haruka pulled away enough to look into Rin’s eyes again. ‘Rin, scent me.’ His breathing was heavy and their scents were now mingled in the air, tinged with arousal.

Moving his legs so he was properly straddling Haruka, Rin buried his nose at the junction where neck met shoulder. He gently nipped at Haruka’s scent gland and left a kiss on Haruka’s mating mark before nibbling there too. He pressed and sucked more kisses along Haruka’s neck and jawline, just as Haruka had done to him. There was no way his neighbours couldn’t smell their mixed heady scents. Haruka pulled Rin closer, pressing their bodies flush and Rin groaned. He could feel Haruka was just as affected by this as he was.

‘Haru, before we do anything else, can I ask you something?’ Rin managed to ask between kisses. Haruka hummed in acknowledgement, nibbling Rin’s mark some more. ‘Do you… regret mating me?’ It felt stupid to be asking this now, as they were making out and half hard against each other, but he couldn’t help it.

Haruka made sure to look Rin in the eye. ‘If I had to choose anyone to mate, I’m glad it’s you.’

All the regret he had felt instantly vanished as Rin beamed due to Haruka’s words. ‘I’m glad it’s you, too. But… why did you imprint on me?’ A nagging feeling was still itching at the back of Rin’s mind.

‘Because… it’s you. Our relationship was never normal.’

Rin couldn’t help a chuckle at that. ‘You’re right.’ He leaned down and kissed Haruka again.

After some more making out, they end up falling asleep cuddled up, noses buried in each other’s necks.

Lights glared down on them as production assistants rushed around getting the segment ready. A reporter from a popular sport’s channel was going to be interviewing them.

‘Now, I’ll ask you the questions your manager already agreed on. Just answer them as you will.’ The interview said. Rin hoped Miura didn’t approve of any personal questions, the public only needed to know so much.

Soon enough, the producer called for the segment to begin. Rin could hear a pre-edited segment, briefly outlining his and Haruka’s history in school and some of their notable achievements in swimming. After the film, the interviewer introduced himself, then introduced Haruka and Rin, and then they jumped into the questions.

‘You’re imprinting was most unprecedented. How do you feel about it?’

‘We were unsure at first, but we eventually grew to accept it.’ Haruka said.

‘So you decided to become mates since you imprinted?’ The interviewer gave a staged conspiratorial half smile.

‘We decided to do what felt right for us.’ Rin pointedly corrected him.

‘Have you always seen each other romantically? Was it love at first sight?’ The interviewer oozed good-natured interest.

Haruka and Rin glanced shyly at each other before looking back at their interviewer.

‘I guess I was always drawn to Haru in a way, ever since we were kids. I don’t know if it lead to the imprint but I don’t regret it happening.’

‘And what about you, Nanase-senshuu?’

Haruka gazed at Rin again. ‘When we met, I… really did not like him. Still, I couldn’t avoid how drawn to him I felt.’ The audience cooed and sighed dreamily. Rin reached over and took Haruka’s hand, earning more gushing reactions from the crowd. They were ignored by both Rin and Haruka. ‘I can’t see myself bonded to anyone but Rin.’

‘Your story is most inspiring. Share with us one more thing before we wrap up our little interview? Would you say to your supporters and viewers that you’re happy?’

Rin and Haruka both gave each other small smiles and their hands clasped tighter together. ‘Yes. We’re happy.’

**Author's Note:**

> For those curious:  
> Makoto is an alpha with a maple scent  
> Sousuke has a minty scent  
> Rei is a beta  
> Nao is an alpha, Natsuya and Asahi are betas, and Ikuya is an omega.  
> Gou is an alpha and she also has a cherry scent


End file.
